Library | Sustainable Finance Practices
Issue/sector focused research
General research and analysis that provides deep dives and insights into specific sustainability issues or industry sectors, addressing the current status, trends, risks, and opportunities for the issue but not specifically addressing a finance or business audience.
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Building fast. Falling short. Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2025–2026
The 2025–2026 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction examines the sector's slow progress toward net-zero targets. Despite rising floor area and investment, building emissions and energy intensity remain off track. The report recommends urgent fossil-fuel phase-outs, upgraded building codes, and increased renewable energy deployment to meet 2030 milestones.
What is driving innovation in sustainability systems?
This report examines the key drivers of innovation in sustainability systems, including evolving legislation, data accessibility, and the need for inclusive value creation. It highlights case studies in palm oil, aquaculture, and cocoa, while providing strategic insights for scaling successful innovations through collaboration and robust business cases.
Life cycle assessment for cotton (country averages, organic, regenerative, recycled)
This research provides regional life cycle assessment data for cotton cultivation and recycling across key global regions. It identifies environmental hotspots, such as nitrogen fertiliser emissions and electricity consumption, while integrating additional sustainability criteria like soil health, biodiversity, and human rights through an LCA+ approach.
Morocco: Country private sector diagnostic
This World Bank Group report identifies policy actions to unlock private investment in Morocco's decentralised solar, low-carbon textiles, argan oil, and marine aquaculture sectors. It estimates these sectors could collectively catalyse US$7.4 billion in investment and create 166,000 jobs through targeted regulatory reforms and infrastructure improvements.
Miracle crops? Limited potential, serious risks: the environmental case for caution on intermediate and degraded-land biofuel crops in Europe
This T&E report evaluates intermediate and degraded-land crops for EU biofuels. It finds limited domestic supply potential and significant environmental risks, including emissions from fertilisers and land-use change. T&E recommends strict safeguards, a 70% greenhouse gas saving threshold, and prioritising these fuels for the aviation sector only.
Converging on disclosure
This research examines the shifting landscape of corporate racial disclosures, noting a recent trend towards retrenchment. It argues that mandatory disclosure remains politically viable through interest-convergence. While progressives and conservatives disagree on racial equity goals, both can converge on the utility of transparency to monitor or challenge corporate behaviour.
The battle for plastic hegemony: the petrochemical historical bloc and the UN Global Plastics Treaty
This report examines the petrochemical historical bloc and its influence on the UN Global Plastics Treaty. It analyses how corporate-led partnerships, such as the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, use the circular economy concept to prioritise downstream waste management while protecting plastic production from restrictive upstream regulations.
Lifelong learning and skills for the future: Insights for Latin America and the Caribbean
This research brief explores lifelong learning and future skill requirements in Latin America and the Caribbean. It addresses structural challenges like high informality and rapid population ageing. Utilising big-data analytics and institutional surveys, the report provides recommendations for building inclusive, flexible learning systems aligned with technological and green transitions.
Battery circularity: Innovation trends for a future source of critical materials
This report examines global innovation trends in battery circularity and critical metal refining. It highlights a surge in patenting activity since 2017, led by Asian companies. The analysis covers policy drivers, recycling technologies, and the role of secondary supplies in enhancing supply chain resilience and environmental sustainability.
Critical minerals – The power factor in commodities
This report explores critical minerals as a structural theme rather than a cyclical trend. It highlights that bottlenecks in downstream processing and high geographic concentration, particularly in China, create strategic vulnerabilities. For investors, value-chain-based assessments are prioritised over short-term price movements to navigate this lasting global economic transformation.
Rare earth elements: Pathways to secure and diversified supply chains
This International Energy Agency report assesses global rare earth supply chains and vulnerabilities. It highlights China's dominance, the USD 6.5 trillion economic risk from potential disruptions, and provides eight strategic recommendations to achieve secure, diversified, and resilient supply through international coordination, increased investment, and innovation in recycling and demand-side technologies.
Progress report of China’s National Carbon Market (2026)
China’s 2026 carbon market report details the expansion of the National ETS into steel, cement, and aluminium sectors. It highlights record trading volumes, the entry into force of the Ecological and Environmental Code, and the use of AI-driven digital infrastructure to support carbon neutrality goals.
Key figures on European living conditions series
This benchmark series provides a comprehensive overview of European living conditions using statistical indicators. Produced by Eurostat, it covers income distribution, inequality, household characteristics, health, and disability across EU and EFTA countries. The series supports socio-economic analysis and policy development through clear visualisations and factual data.
Mainstreaming biodiversity into climate finance: Lessons from the DFCD Origination Facility
This report examines how the Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD) Origination Facility integrates biodiversity into climate finance. Through diverse case studies, it highlights pathways for private investment, the necessity of landscape-level perspectives, and the role of technical assistance in making nature-positive business models bankable.
Lethal humidity and the systemic risks of climate change
This report examines the systemic threats posed by lethal humidity, where extreme heat and moisture exceed human physiological limits. Focusing on historical cases and Indonesia, it details cascading impacts on health, energy, and agriculture. It calls for urgent emissions reductions and improved global cooling strategies to mitigate escalating climate risks.
Digital sequence information (DSI) on genetic resources: A guide for financial institutions in the context of the Cali Fund
This guide helps financial institutions assess portfolio exposure and engage with companies on digital sequence information (DSI). It outlines regulatory risks, including the Cali Fund and benefit-sharing under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, while providing practical tools for investor engagement across the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.